Numbers
by Not Official Staff
Summary: Ethan's significant other has been killed, and it turns out he's obligated to follow his cousin across the Mesta region. What started out as a reluctant journey ends as a race to stop Team Oblivion before they can fulfill their objective. A pokémon SYOC, unfortunately now closed.
1. Chapter 1: Counting Down From Ten

Before you read anything-yes, the main character is a homosexual, just because the name I randomly generated for the victim happened to be male. Please direct any homophobic rages to my PMs, thank you. Reviews are for comments on my writing.

* * *

Ethan Brooks had never been a particularly angry person. Of course, that was before he had stood in shock as the blood of his significant other soaked his shoes.

_This is a dream_, he though, _that guy did _not _just shoot Jake. I'm hallucinating, and when I wake up Jake will be there like he always is, and he's going to be alive and not have a bullet through his skull. Alright...I'm going to count backwards from ten, and when I do Jake is going to pop up and say 'Boo!', because this isn't real and he's not really dead. Ten..._

Jake's head was lying on the ground, his skull split open by the force of the bullet.

_Nine..._

His eyes weren't closed. They were open, and the ghost of the fear that he had felt when the barrel had been aimed at him danced upon them.

_Eight..._

Jake's favorite white hoody was soaked with red. So was his hair. He had always talked about dying it...he didn't like his brown hair, said it was boring...

_Seven..._

The fastest droplet had reached the storm drain and the stream was following it. The precious liquid, which now meant so little, was quickly disappearing from view, but it would always be replaced. There was no end to it.

_Six...five...four..._

The gunman was staring at Jake's head in terror and something else, something Ethan couldn't quite place.

_Three...two...one..._

Zero.

"Jake?" muttered Ethan nervously as he sunk to his knees, "Jake? Come on, Jake, please tell me you're okay. Please say you can hear me. Jake? Jake?"

The guy with the gun dropped it and began to slowly back away. He was a kid, Ethan realized-fifteen at the most, not much younger than Ethan himself.

About the same age as Jake.

The kid didn't even bother to fight back. He just let the guy slam into his face, twisting his head back and knocking him into the ground, unconscious. The gun fell on him with a clatter. Then, so did Ethan.

The last thing he remembered hearing before he blacked out was Jake's voice, saying something...something about...he didn't know.

* * *

_He is survived by no one._

_No one._

_No one._

Ethan threw the obituary on the ground in disgust and stared at the floor before falling back into his couch with a muffled sob. It was only now that he'd been able to get his hands on the paper itself.

_It's bullshit. Complete bullshit. _

He sighed. _Life's bullshit._

Ethan just sat there, wallowing in self pity, for who knows how long. Hours. Minutes. Hours, probably. And he would have sat there for quite a bit longer if he hadn't been interrupted by the sound of his favorite chat client delivering a message.

With a sigh he dragged his laptop onto his lap. He didn't bother questioning who was messaging him-there was only one person who would talk to him now that Jake couldn't. Izzy.

Technically, it was Izanaga, but she went by Izzy. Her justification was simply 'Because reasons' and she and Ethan had agreed to leave it at that.

Izzy: yo wassup

Ethan: not in the mood

Ethan: sorry

Izzy: come on, cheer up! Its nice outside n shit...

Ethan: where you are, maybe

Ethan: it's raining in Nachalo

Izzy: ...

Izzy: damn im sorry

Izzy: you seem a bit sadder than usual. What happened

Ethan sighed as he pulled away from his computer. What happened? Quite a bit had happened in the last year or so. Had it already been a year since he lost Jake? He couldn't remember. Yes, he supposed it had been a year. It didn't matter.

He looked back at his computer. Izzy had bombarded his inbox with messages in the mere seconds that he had been thinking.

Izzy: Did someone troll you

Izzy: should I troll them back

Izzy: or wait is it something els

Izzy: *else

Izzy: fuck

Izzy: are you even here anymore

Izzy: come on bro I know ur somewhere

Izzy: dude

Izzy: where the hell u at

Ethan: it's nothing

Izzy: come on bro

Ethan: so how is your life

Izzy: dude. Stop changing the subject

Izzy: I think I know what'll fix you up real well

Izzy: how about a good ol' gym challenge

Ethan: Izzy, I was going to go on my journey with Jake

Ethan: remember?

Izzy: come on

Izzy: You can pretend he's there!

Izzy: ...I'm being real insensitive rn aren't I

Ethan: yes. Yes you are

Izzy: look you should come over for a while

Izzy: it'll do you good

Ethan: I have literally no money

Izzy: no problemo moneys on me

_That's right. Izzy's rich. I keep forgetting. _

Ethan: This seems a little sudden

Izzy: Well its not like anyones gonna stop u

_That's right. I'm alone now. _

Ethan: maybe some other time

_Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!_

"Who is it?" muttered Ethan as he stood up to open the door. What he saw shocked him to no extent.

"Uncle Ethan!" yelled a loud and shrill voice as a mound of denim slammed into him, making everything fade to black.

* * *

He was leaning against a tree, and Jake was there. "Wake up, Ethan. Come on. Wake up."

"I don't wanna..." muttered Ethan.

"Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. WAKE UP!" The tree was now his couch, and Jake had somehow turned into a boy.

He was sitting on the floor in front of Ethan, and unleashing a barrage of yelled 'wake ups' at him.

"I'm awake," muttered Ethan.

"Good," muttered the kid, "Go pack!"

"What? Pack?"

"Yeah!" he smiled. "My journey, remember?"

"What?"

"Did they not tell you?"

Ethan vaguely remembered that he hadn't touched his mail in months. "No. Who are you and why are you in my house?"

The kid smiled. "I'm Sam and I'm your cousin!"

"I don't remember having a cousin..."

"Well, whatever. You do have one. And my parents went to Johto for a year and left me behind, so now I'm staying with you!"

"Did they ever think that perhaps a mourning 16 year old is not the best guardian?"

"Maybe. Whatever. Listen, I'm going to go on a pokémon journey with Lillipup, and you need to go with me, because my parents are scared I'll get hurt or something."

Ethan just stared. He had often thought of the many ways that his life could get worse. This had not occurred to him.

* * *

So yeah, I'm starting an SYOC story. I don't know why, I just kinda want to. Not all the chapters are going to be this...dramatic, I promise. This is just the prologue.

OC forms will be on my profile. Please submit THROUGH PM ONLY. I need rivals, six gym leaders, and three Elite Four. In addition, Psychic, Water and Electric type are taken. I would also like some characters who aren't any of that, and perhaps some members of the villainous team. The leader and two admins have been created by me, but the rest are open.


	2. Chapter 2: Key Rings and Angry Redheads

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who submitted OCs! I still need some gym leaders and elite four, and the form's still on my profile. Also, if there is any backstory to speak of please submit it to me in a PM. Thank you.

* * *

"If you're my cousin, why did I not know you exist until now?"

Sam replied as if he had rehearsed the answer his entire life. "Our parents are estranged. My father is your mother's brother, and when their parents divorced they were split up."

Ethan's mother had never talked about having a brother, or divorced parents, but then again her parents had been dead before Ethan was born and she really hadn't talked about much of anything.

"So come on, what are you waiting for? Go pack!"

"I'm waiting for a lot of stuff, Sam."

* * *

Ethan's room was a mess as usual. He hadn't been there for weeks, as he preferred not to leave the warm embrace of the couch. His clothes were scattered all over the room, there was a pair of jeans half obscuring the window and a dress shirt hanging limply from the doorknob. Ethan didn't even remember ever owning a dress shirt.

Wait-it was Jake's.

Suddenly memories came flooding back to him, of a night a week before Jake's death. They had been coming home from grocery shopping when it started to rain in torrents. They had run to Ethan's house-it was closer-but not before they had been soaked to the bone. Ethan had let Jake borrow one of his decidedly less formal shirts, and had planned to return his to him. He had just never gotten around to him. And here the shirt was, a year later, hanging from the doorknob limper than Jake's corpse had been when the police officer had come to pick it up off of the soaked ground.

_No, Ethan, don't think about that night. Calm down, and count back from ten. Doctor Vogel said it would be good for you, having a sense of order. Numbers...numbers make sense. They're always there no matter what. They're an abstraction, so they're not about to go away. They calm you down, remember? Now count down from ten. Ten...nine...eight...seven_

Ethan pushed his long brown hair out of his face and began the search for a backpack. _I distinctly remember having a bed and dresser under here,_ he tried to joke to himself, but it didn't make him feel any better.

Finally he found the strings of a backpack. It wasn't his backpack-it was Jake's, back from when he had been a trainer, and he had left it with Ethan the same day he had left the shirt. There was a small paper bag inside, which said 'Do not open until your birthday, Ethan. I know you, and if you do I will strangle you, you little prick. Control yourself for once-Jacob' on it in magenta. Jake's signature magenta fountain pen. That was right, Jake had died only a week before Ethan's birthday. Sighing, he opened the bag.

Inside was a poké ball.

Ethan picked it up, and it sprung open to reveal...

a letter and a strange-looking ring of keys.

Ethan went for the letter first. The keys were probably spares to Jake's house, and Jake's house had been sold.

_Dearest Ethan_, it said, _I really hope you waited until your birthday to open this. Otherwise I would've needed to strangle you, and I don't wanna do that, considering that then I'd be single again and changing my facebook status would be _such _a hassle. Either way, you said that you envied me for being a trainer, so I figured I'd fix that. He's a feisty one, just like you, although he doesn't share your...mischievous habits, let's call them._

Ethan stared in shock. A pokémon? But all that was in there was the ring of...

"Klefki!" said the keys excitedly.

Ethan smiled weakly for the first time in what felt like forever. "Hey there, little guy. My name's Ethan, and I'm gonna take good care of you. Promise."

"Klef!" replied the keys.

"You sure are a strange one, aren't you? A ring of keys? I bet people think you're a stupid pokémon. We're one of a kind, aren't we-outcasts. I'll take good care of you."

"Klef!"

"You're kinda cute, aren't you..." he looked back at the letter.

_Honestly, Ethan, you're awesome. You're pretty much my reason for living, ever since I had to homeschool myself. It's been pretty lonely, not having anyone to talk to, y'know? So, I want you to marry me. Okay, it's not technically legal. But I'm willing to wait. Until then, let's announce our unofficial engagement. Tell me what you think, 'kay? _

_Forever, right? _

_Love you, Jake_

Ethan could vaguely sense the floor sailing towards him, but he didn't notice that he had fallen, even when he was already in a crying heap on the ground.

* * *

Mercury Thompson had outdone himself this time.

_It was so totally worth it, though. The look on her face-freaking priceless! _

He turned a corner, and then turned completely white.

"Dead...end," he muttered weakly.

"That's ri~ght," he heard the voice practically singing behind him.

"Who the eff are you?" he asked the woman.

The redhead snarled at him. "Give me...my chocolate..."

"Can't. I already ate it," replied Mercury nonchalantly.

"You idiot!" yelled an enraged redhead, "That was a one-of-a-kind, gourmet chocolate that my grandmother made with her blood, sweat and tears!"

"Can't she make you another one?"

"Yeah, maybe, if she ever comes back to life!"

"Uh," muttered Mercury, hoping he looked sufficiently guilty to please the officer.

"That's it! In the name of justice, the law, Mesta and President Smith I, Detective Athena Russell, place you under arrest!"

"Not without this you don't," chuckled Mercury with a smirk as he held up her badge.

One look told him that this was the wrong choice.

* * *

"And that's how I got in here," he muttered to his cell mate, a guy who had introduced himself as Xander Smith.

"I, uh...accidentally burned down a building."

Mercury just stared. "How do you accidentally burn down a building?"

"Perhaps it wasn't an accident," muttered the intern, a rather androgynous-looking girl in a loose-fitting police uniform who's nametag proclaimed her to be Pat Carson.

"No, I swear it was. See, I have this thing...where I...burn stuff accidentally. It's a mental disorder."

"Ah, I see." She turned to Mercury. "And next you'll tell me you stole Detective Russell's badge and chocolate accidentally?"

"Naw, that was on purpose-and totally worth it. Hilarious-you should've seen the look on her face!"

Pat just stared at him. "You seem awfully calm for someone who's being detained for impersonating an officer."

"Impersonate her? Do I look like I could pass myself off as that lady? No one can have hair that naturally red-she's gotta be dying it. Also, I'm sorta used to being detained at this point, and by worse people than little miss Russell."

"Like who?"

"Uh...try Melvin Welsh."

"Melvin who?" asked Xander, who had been strangely quiet up until that point.

"Melvin Welsh, Precrasno City gym leader. Imagine a cockroach and a CEO of one of those factories that pump toxins everywhere have a demented lovechild. Welsh is what you'd get after nine months." He saw Pat cringing and took it as a sign to continue. His voice took on the deeper tone of a boxing referee. "Standing at a enormous 5'4", and weighing a total of 135 pounds, in this corner we have the amazing and incredible Mel. Look at his amazing physique, nothing but abs and biceps , ignore his bony chest ladies and skeleton like arms, even that strange hump in his back that makes him haunch over. If you look past all that you'll come to love his slick and greasy black hair, come on ladies, how can you not love that cow lick? His eyes show nothing but ferociousness, with their sickly green hue and perverted intentions. Did I mention he is pasty white? Why aren't people forming a fan club for this beautiful beast?" This prompted a giggle from Xander and a stare from Pat.

"I'm telling you for the last time, I'm not scared of fucking math! What kind of a failure of a psychologist do you have to be to think that?" Athena Russell's angry voice floated down the hallway.

"I told you, I'm a psychiatrist, not a psychologist, and I'm offended that you'd even compare me to one of those philistines!" a heavy accented voice rang out.

"God damn it, Herschel! You have no idea how pretentious you sound saying that!"

They came into view. Athena was striding in front of the trio, her silky red hair bouncing lightly on her tweed-suited back with every step she took. Mercury wondered how she could walk, never mind corner someone as fast as him, in heels that high. Behind her and to her right was a disheveled man who looked to be in his late thirties, with ruffled blonde hair and a lopsided tie. The man to the left of Athena was tall and probably overweight, wearing cargo shorts, sandals (with socks, the humanity) and a bright orange shirt which clashed horribly with his dark blue tie. His most striking feature was his hair, a wild mop colored a luminescent white.

Athena stopped directly in front of the cell, avoiding their gaze. "Intern! Criminals! I have a proposal!"

* * *

Author's note: And there's chapter two done! I'm going to post on Saturdays most of the time, but I was just really excited to post this!

I'm sorry. I know I promised less drama. I at least hope the second part was good. You'll be seeing a lot more of the three legal...*ahem* I suppose it would be incorrect for me to call them professionals. You'll also be seeing a lot more of Mercury, Xander and Pat, as well as more of Melvin Welsh (bet you're all looking forward to that, huh?)

I must give credit where credit is due, so thank you to:

**visceraEffect** for **Pat Carson**

**Twilightcrystalflame** for **Mercury Thompson**

**W. R. Winters **for **Xander Smith**

**MysteryAgain **for an as-of-now unintroduced OC

and **The Mighty Trubbish **for **Melvin Welsh**, as well as Mercury's physical description of Mel. I couldn't make that stuff up if I tried.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

-GP V


	3. Chapter 3: Door-to-Door Salescultists

**Author's Note: Oh my god, I'm sorry this took this long. There was a lot of stuff going on in my life, and I've been managing two tumblrs and doing summer homework, and I had to go to a funeral on Saturday. On a ****completely related**** totally unrelated note I now have a bird. This chapter may be a little shorter than what you're used to, but I'm just happy I got this out. Either way, enjoy!**

* * *

There was someone at the door.

"Ethan!" yelled Sam as he listened to the knocking, "Ethan! There's someone at the door! Ethan! Ethan!"

Ethan staggered slowly down the stairs, clutching a blue backpack to his chest. "Open it."

* * *

"So you want us to be spies?" asked Mercury, "Hella! That sounds _so _cool!"

"But isn't that dangerous?" asked Pat.

"Not really. We'll have officers watching you at all times, and from what I've seen of Mr. Thompson," Athena looked positively enraged by the very action of speaking his name, "He'll be able to get you out."

* * *

"Hello there, kids! Can I speak to your parents?" asked the woman with a smile.

"Uh...I'm my own legal guardian," replied Ethan.

"Really? Well, each to their own, I suppose. Either way, I'm here on the behalf of an organization called-"

* * *

"Team Oblivion?" mouthed Xander.

"Yes." the disheveled man, who had since then introduced himself as Maxwell Simmons, Athena's partner, muttered. "Also known as the Order of Branching Light. They're an eco-terrorist organization who, well-have any of you heard of Xerneas?"

Xander and Mercury just shook their head.

"Xerneas is a legendary pokémon who originated in the Kalos region. However, after being nearly exterminated by hunters it, along with its counterpart Yveltal, began to circle the world. The world was too ignorant to know the cause of the rampant destruction, and they blamed each other. Many great wars were started, and Kalos, Kanto, Johto and Sinnoh were all destroyed in the fighting. No one knows where Yveltal and Xerneas are now, but the sleeping form of their master, Zygarde, was thought to have been destroyed with its region. Because of this, should Xerneas and Yveltal rise again, the destruction will return."

Everyone stared at Pat. "How do you know that?" asked Xander slowly.

"I took an elective."

* * *

"I'm sorry, he's eleven and I'm in mourning," muttered Ethan to the woman.

"Not a problem! I'm sure there's something you can donate!"

"Like what?" asked Sam.

A teenager walked out from behind the woman. Ethan could only guess that he was male.

"Ma'am, we haven't turned up anything in the rest of the town. I'll go search the ruins now."

"You do that, Sora," she muttered.

"Yes, Commander Eve," he said as he turned around and walked towards a place that Ethan recognized as the Nachalo Ruins.

* * *

"The Order of Branching Light is a fanatical religious cult which believes that the world was created in a burst of color by Xerneas. They are interested in completely subverting the rules that Arceus has created for us-inevitability. Progression. Oblivion."

"They want to achieve immortality?" asked Xander.

"Yes. But, to do that, they would need to summon their god, Xerneas. They are willing to do anything to achieve this goal. And that's where you come in. You're going to investigate on the go. Travel across Mesta, acting like normal trainers. Don't tell anyone about your goals, and whatever you do don't make us get involved."

Mercury grinned. "Sounds fun."

* * *

"So, do you have any fairy type pokémon?"

Ethan thought about it. Klefki was a fairy type, wasn't it?

"Well?" asked Eve sharply, taking a step towards Ethan menacingly. Her smile had faded from her face, and she was beginning to terrify Ethan.

Suddenly, a shout came from behind Eve. The woman barely had time to turn around before she was hit in the face by an incredibly fast punch.

"Bastards," muttered their attacker.

* * *

**Also, thank you to the following people:**

Magnumopus01

Red Alfa

MasterOfPokemon101

And 666funtimes for Sora!

Also, **OCs are now closed. Thank you so much to everyone who submitted!**


	4. Chapter 4: Ruins Teach to Ruin

**Screw a regular update schedule. Work is kinda screwing over any hopes I had of updating regularly. I'll try for once a week. **

**Either way, this is the last chapter of the 'beginning'. You guys are going to meet the final two main characters (I mean, you've kinda met one of them already. Her fist, at least) and one other, we get our first battle, and Ethan's finally going to leave his goddamn hometown. That said, enjoy.**

* * *

"Brat!" muttered Eve as she lay on the ground, "whoever taught you such atrocious manners?"

"When ya live in the ruins, ya learn to ruin people."

Ethan knew that voice. He also knew that face, and that clothing, and the person in general.

"You okay, Ethan?" asked Ron Cavendish.

Ron, who's full name was Veronica, was infamous around Nochalo. Her father was an archaeologist convinced that there was something hidden in the Nachalo Ruins-something big. His daughter had been raised living a lifestyle that many would find exciting, but she just found boring. With her signature archaeologist's clothing, sunhat and large backpack, Ron was easily the most resourceful person Ethan had ever met. However, most people tried to steer clear of her, due to her obsession with the long extinct, which had gained her the nickname 'Death Fangirl'.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." he shook off his shock and stood up from his place on the ground. "Ron, what the hell are you doing?"

"They desecrated the Idol of Yveltal and stole the Idol of Xerneas!"

"They're just statues, Ron...let it go."

"They're more than statues to me! And clearly they're more than statues to them! We need to stop them, whoever they are!"

Ethan tried to argue, but then realized that she was right. So he sat down and watched the fight as it unfolded.

"Sora!" yelled Eve.

"On it!" Sora pulled a small knife out of his pocket.

"Don't you dare..." responded Ron as she pulled a pickaxe out of the holster on her back.

"Whoa..." muttered Sam breathlessly.

"What is it?" asked Ethan.

"She's so cool...why don't we have people like that where I live?"

"I'm sure you do. You just haven't looked hard enough," Ron said through her teeth as she swung her pickaxe in a wide arc to deflect Sora's knife.

"This isn't working!" he growled as he reached into his back pocket. "Esther, use Psychic!"

"Meow-stic!" yelled Esther as she unleashed a psychic wave from her ears.

"Hecate! Intercept it!" yelled Ron. A Misdreavus flew in to intercept the attack.

"Now! Shadow Ball!" Hecate fired off a shadow ball.

"No! Use Substitute!" yelled Sora.

"Meow..." hummed Esther as a ghostly replica appeared in front of her. The shadowy projectile slammed into the ghostly replica, which faded partially but retained its presence.

"We have to help her!" yelled Sam desperately, "Go! Pidgeot!" The large bird pokémon screeched as it burst from its pokéball.

Ethan had never been in a battle before, but now seemed as good a time as any to learn. "Go! Klefki!"

"Oh, you do have a fairy type?" asked Eve.

"Y-yeah," Ethan stammered, not sure what was going to happen next.

"Give it to me," she growled, and advanced further towards Ethan. He hadn't noticed it before, but she was bleeding a little from where Ron had punched her, and the blood was beginning to trickle down the side of her face. Her blue eye shadow, which had been beautiful before, was running down her face, as was her mascara.

"Evelyn Poe, you are under arrest for...well, a lot of things." Ethan whirled around to see a red-haired woman aiming a handgun right at Eve's head.

Eve pulled out a pistol of her own. "Well, Thena...funny seeing you here."

The woman gritted her teeth. "Max is in the bushes right now, Evelyn. You're outnumbered."

Eve snarled. "Prove it."

The tree next to her was blown apart, and a man in the bushes thumbed-up. Sora, distracted by the explosion, took a kick to the groin from a reinvigorated Ron.

* * *

"Ethan, are you okay?"

"Ethan?"

"Ethan?"

Ethan was running, running through the forest. It was too soon to be seeing guns being pointed at people. Too soon.

He had no idea how long he'd been running for. All he knew was that he was leaning against a tree, and that there was a girl lying on the ground next to him.

"Bastard," she muttered in a thick accent, "bloody running into me."

She was certainly a strange one, Ethan decided. Her hair, black with red streaks, was tied into a ponytail which reached to her midback. Her clothing consisted of a black jacket over a red shirt, jeans, and combat boots, her eyes were covered by reflective sunglasses and in her hands was a leash, the other end of which was attached to a struggling Furfrou.

"Oh, shit, I'm so sorry," said Ethan as he held his hand out to her.

"You better not be holding out your bloody hand," she muttered.

Ethan quickly withdrew the offending limb. "Uh...why not?"

"Idiot. I'm blind. Why else would I have a bloody seeing-eye Furfrou?"

"So that's what that was," Ethan muttered weakly.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" the girl muttered as she stood up and brushed herself off.

"What's a blind girl doing in the middle of the forest?" asked Ethan.

"Is that where I am?" she muttered sleepily, as though it was insignificant.

"Uh, yeah. I can guide you back to Nochalo, if you want."

"Sure. My names Eris, if you must know."

"E-Ethan," he stammered.

"You're the kid who got his boyfriend murdered a while back, ain't you?"

"Y-yeah. How did you know?"

"I got my ways. And stop stuttering. It's getting on my nerves."

"Uh, okay."

"Stop saying 'uh'. People'll think you have no self-confidence, and then they'll think you're weak. And you know what the world does to weaklings, right?"

Ethan nodded slowly.

"Ethan! Random girl!" yelled Ron as she ran right into Ethan, knocking him clear off of his feet.

"Hey, Ethan! We've been looking everywhere for you!" Sam added, "There's this weird guy and he said he wanted to talk to you."

"Mr. Brooks, I presume. My name is Will. Will Spears." The man's voice was soft and charismatic, but Ethan could sense malice behind the soothing tones.

"Do you want Klefki too?" he asked.

"Yes, if it wouldn't be too much trouble."

"Why would I ever help you?"

The man adjusted his waistcoat, flung a lock of blond hair behind his ear, and began to speak. "We all have out parts to play in this world, Mr. Brooks, whether it be the hero," he drew a stick figure with his foot, "the mentor," another stick figure, "the villain, the love interest, or the part which you are destined to play," another stick figure, "the supporting cast." Here he closed his book and bowed just the tiniest bit. "So what say you, Mr. Brooks-shall you play your part, or shall I force you to?"

Ethan growled.

"Very well. If that is your answer-go! Salamence! Use Flamethrower!"

Ethan was standing in a flaming circle of trees, and the Salamence was looking especially proud of itself.

"Kill the spare," added Will.

"No!" Ethan yelled as the Salamence raised its claws, but it was too late-Sam and Ron were already lying unconscious near the burning trees.

"I am sorry."

Will and Ethan both looked at Eris in shock.

"I am sorry that I am forcing you to fight for me, but I truly need your help. Please, assist me in my time of need." Both of her hands tightly clutched the pokéball that she was holding out in front of her. The white light of a pokéball opening spread throughout the clearing. Will and Ethan both shielded their eyes from the light, and even the Salamence seemed to be in mild discomfort. Ethan thought for a moment how ludicrous this amount of light was, but then he realized that there were better things to be worrying about.

"Noivern..."

Eris lowered her arms and nodded slightly as she exhaled.

"...Boomburst."

The entire clearing erupted in noise. Ethan and Will both covered their ears. The latter seemed to be experiencing actual pain-Ethan could see blood leaking out of his left ear. Salamence seemed to be in even worse condition, as it was currently unconscious."

"This isn't over! Pidgey, use fly!" Ethan could swear Will was flipping them off as he and his undersized mount flew off into the sunset.

"Thank you," muttered Eris, "I swear on Arceus' name that I will repay you."

* * *

"Yeah, honey. I'm doing fine. No, I'm not in too much danger. No, I'm not cheating on you. Yeah. Sure, I'll remember that. Have a good day. Love you too. Bye." The black-haired man hung up his X-transciever. "Sorry, I had to get that out of the way. My wife and I have promised to call each other every day. So, on with the questioning, right?"

Herschel Vogel was fascinated.

_That eye color can't be natural, can it? Perhaps a genetic disorder...some new strain of partial albinism...and that tan _cannot _be for real..._

Maxwell Simmons was intimidated.

_Holy shit, this dude's scary. You can tell a guy means business when he's wearing a mega ring-those things are only for the crème de la crème! And now he says he wants to help us take out Team Oblivion...who is he?_

Athena Russell was pissed off.

_Who does he think he is, waltzing in here and saying he's won the Sinnoh League? He acts like he's intimidating, but I've seen grandmas that are more threatening. Who does he think he is to interfere with _my _big case?_

But that wasn't what she said. What she said was "Eric Villagran, was it?"

* * *

**And that's a wrap! I believe that's the longest chapter so far! Thanks to Legacy918 for Eric. **

**Now, let's play Spot The Reference. There's one Harry Potter one, and one Homestuck one. Both are fairly obvious. The Homestuck one is because I have GOTTEN BACK INTO THE MOOD because of this new RP that I may or may not be in. It's pretty rad working together with people on a Homestuck fansession, and it's something I've wanted to do since Gigapause started, but never got the chance to do.**

**Now, moving on-question of the day, in reviews or comments, yes I'm doing these now. Theories on Eris? Thoughts on Eris? Anything Eris-related, leave it in the reviews. **

**In addition, I am setting up a forum that I will link to from my profile. This will be for character submissions (although at this point they'd be more like characters of the day and shit), suggestions for pokémon the main characters should catch, and fakemon, which I desperately need. Thank you in advance, and thank you for reading!**

**GPV**


	5. Chapter 5: The End of the Beginning

**Author's Note: **

**Dear Readers**

**I am very, very deeply sorry for taking this long to update. However, I have an excuse. **

**This past week was spent on the island of Martha's Vineyard. You know Cape Cod? You know Cape Cod and the islands? You know Nantucket? Well Martha's Vineyard is the other island. It was absolutely wonderful there, but the wifi? Not so much. **

**Then we got home, and school started. I guess when you enter your senior year and all your classes are AP you shouldn't expect them to go easy on you, but I wasn't expecting what I got. I'm getting a good two hours a day in homework from each class and although I've managed to write a little for this story here and there, most of my writing has been for my classes. So I finally got this piece of crap together over the weekend. Don't expect much. Not only is this chapter rushed and written in small bursts, it's not my best work, because I haven't been sleeping too much and I think it's affecting me from a linguistic standpoint. So between flawed wifi, my novel, and an absolutely ludicrous amount of homework I managed to piece this together. Enjoy. Or don't. I can't tell you what to think. **

**-Generic Person the Fifth**

* * *

Izzy: etahn

Izzy: *ethna

Izzy: fuck

Izzy: Ethan

Izzy: Ethan

Izzy: ethan why the fuck aren't you answering me

Izzy: Ethan!

* * *

"Who is 'Izzy? Are they someone we should be worried about?" asked Max.

"I believe that they are largely inconsequential. Either way, I'll need to take that phone. I think it's distracting you."

"Aw, 'Thena. Why do you have to be such a killjoy all the time?"

"You call it being a killjoy. I call it being professional." Athena gently took the phone out of Max's hands and placed it next to Ethan's backpack, where he had taken it from in the first place.

"Where is the kid? How far could he have run?"

"No matter how far he ran, I'm sure that Will got to him. The question is not where he is. The question is if he's still alive." Athena's face was grim.

"Seeing Eve again sure pissed you off, didn't it?" Max uttered a halfhearted laugh, which was cut off the moment that he saw Athena's pained expression.

"You have no idea."

* * *

"Are you okay, Eris?" asked Ethan. The blind girl was leaning weakly against a tree, clearly tired.

"Yeah. I'm fine. You should be asking yourself that. You're the one who got hit my a Boomburst, after all. That sounded like it hurt a lot."

"Yeah, it kinda did, but I think I'm better now." he paused to look at the girl, on the verge of collapse, holding weakly on her Furfrou's leash. "That was amazing, Eris. You completely owned the guy."

"It wasn't me. It was Noivern."

Ethan laughed weakly. "I guess so. Still, I had no idea you were that good of a trainer."

"I'm not a trainer," Eris muttered sullenly.

"Then what-"

"Never mind that. Someone's coming."

Ethan shut up and listened. She was right-he did hear footsteps. Ethan slowly raised his fists. _These people never stop, do they?_

"It's okay, Mr. Brooks. You can lower your hands. I'm not going to hurt you. Trust me." The blonde man stood in front of Ethan, sniper rifle slung over his shoulder. "My partner will do that well enough."

Ethan gulped as the redhead stepped in front of her partner. "Young man, you...well, actually, we're the ones with explaining to do."

* * *

_Team Oblivion...a pseudonym for the Order of Branching Light. Not much is known about the Order, except that the members worship Xerneas. _

_After the rebuilding of the destroyed regions, all relics pertaining to Xerneas and Yveltal were destroyed. The world took this as a sign-the old legends were dead. Gone. The world forgave, and the world forgot. Except for the Order. _

_The Order's front of Team Oblivion, a bioengineering company working to prolong human life and expand upon the very abilities of humanity, was founded twenty years ago. Within the order, a deadly hierarchy of admins serves the Commander and Supreme Priest, Philemon._

_The one wreathed in lightning, not much is know about this young girl other than that she is a genius hacker. Suffering from social anxiety and moderate OCD, the girl projects a persona through the world of the internet. Cunning, charming and always ready to backstab, no one knows who she is what her plans are, only that the cannot be good._

_The second ranked admin, one surrounded by grass, a hermit who lives by the brush and the sculpture, is known as one of the most sadistic of the four. For his canvas collection extends to more...controversial objects. His home is lined with sculptures of mangled bones, paintings of blood, and paintings made on parchment of human skin._

_Will is a playwright, who loves to see his fantasies come to life. So much so, that he decided that stage combat could not satisfy him. Will kidnapped passerby and forced them to enact his grisly plays, fighting to the death at his command. Even in death Will would not allow them to escape their fate-he watched as their ghosts played the parts that had ended their lives, over and over again. Their ceaseless torment only made to set the stage-the curtain, in his opinion, was yet to rise._

_And Eve, the beautiful and intelligent woman who's sly wit, charm, and way with words had launched a thousand ships and guided the trajectory of many a bullet. A woman who had, in her years of lawfulness, been employed by the Federal Police as a secretary. She had everyone in the office wrapped around her finger, but especially one redheaded police officer who had just begun her career. A more naïve and impressionable victim Eve had never seen, and soon the girl would be prepared to die for Eve. _

_On the night that Evelyn Poe had left the Federal Police, she also put a bullet through the head of Athena Russell, marking a rather abrupt end to their relationship._

* * *

"Honestly, Will," said the masked man quietly as he paced back and forth through the room, "I knew you weren't exactly reliable, but losing to a blind girl...that's just something else.

"She wasn't just a blind girl...there was something about her...she was different."

Philemon laughed softly as he snatched a black hair from Will's waistcoat. "I don't doubt that at all."

* * *

**Okay, so that was absolute shit. Please excuse me-I wrote this over the course of two weeks and am currently uploading it at five in the morning, right before catching my bus. **

**So, yeah, my schedule's going to be pretty erratic the next few months. So expect updates from me every two weeks or so, keywords being 'or so'. Also, if you have any ideas for any plot or whatever, or scenes with your OC, or anything like that don't hesitate to ask me. I do have the plot outlined but this story needs a little more stuff to fill the gaps because the way I planned it it's going to be short. Too short. Something to note is that, suggested or my original idea, nothing in this story is 'pointless filler'. Every chapter is meant to reveal more and more about the main storyline cumulating in the championship arc. This means that even 'filler' is important to the plot. The characters go shopping in a town? They solve a bit of the puzzle around Xerneas and Yveltal. They help out a character of the day with their issues? An Oblivion admin gets taken down. There's a Q&A chapter (that one's highly unlikely)? Something very dark about one of the main characters is revealed. **

**Next chapter involves traveling, and although Ron and Eris' teams are pre-decided Ethan's is not. So, in the next chapter he will catch a pokémon and you guys can suggest what it is. It can be literally any basic grass-type pokémon.**

**-Generic Person the Fifth**


	6. Update

Dear Numbers readers,

I am so, so sorry to say this, but I seem to have lost interest. Between school and my novel there just isn't much time to write at all, and when I do have time nothing happens. It just ends up being me staring at a screen utterly writer's blocked. So I'm sad to say that I'm putting this story on hiatus until (probably) mid-January. In the meantime I will start a new SYOC story that will have my full attention until January, when it will take a backseat to this story. I'm pretty confident that a completely new story will ease my writer's block, which has been affecting much more than just this story. I have several ideas, but I want to know people's opinions on one thing-which region should I set it in? There will be a poll on my profile. I would also appreciate if you guys submitted OCs to that story too when I post it but if you don't I understand.

I apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes. I'm typing this from my phone.


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